Blackbeard’s Sword May Have Been Found

Hilt of Pirate Blackbeard’s Sword May Have Been Found

Blackbeard, the infamous pirate of the 17th and 18th centuries, had a nasty reputation of intimidating his foes with just his looks alone.

However, researchers recently said they may have found the sword hilt of Blackbeard, possibly adding some context to why he was feared.

Experts say that they found a partially-gilded hilt off North Carolina’s coast in the wreckage of the Queen Anne's Revenge, according to researchers with the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. The ship was the main one Blackbeard captained.

Over the past 14 years, the researchers have been picking through the wreckage and found pieces of the hilt, which they reassembled and are now unveiling it to the public this week, a press release with the department said.

"In any event, the pirates would have had ample opportunity to take anything that they thought valuable,” David Moore of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources told National Geographic.A few media reports have emerged over the week that the hilt, which is made of brass, was in fact Blackbeard’s but the Department of Cultural Resources report never makes that direct claim.

The hilt may have been discarded after the shipwreck because it wasn’t useful or not easily reached, the Department of Cultural Resources said.

So, the sword may have indeed belonged to the infamous pirate but it may not have been his only sword. It may have also been the sword of one of his subordinates.

Blackbeard, born Edward Teach, was the archetypal pirate that many swoon over today, flying the first black flag with a skull and crossbones.